Stanley 71, 71 1/2 Sharpening Questions

I got a Millers Falls version of this router plane but I am new to it so haven’t really used it yet. I do see the benefit on using it to clean up the dado cuts from the table saw.

Sorry, no help with the angle business.

The question I have is this: What assurance is the blade’s edge is parallel to the base of the router? I would think how that blade sit is critical to the performance. This will ensure that the dado bottom will be parallel with the board’s surface. With the blade’s being 90 deg to the shaft I would think that the blade will have to actually sit a bit lower then the bent portion of the L shape blade in order to cut properly. So it can’t be a true 90 deg. From this perspective I would think I would prefer the skew rather the arrowhead point (from logic rather than practical experience).

It would be good if there is a post that shows us how to tune a router plane. Maybe, it already exists. We just need to search for it.

-- I'll be a woodworker when I grow up. HHHOPKS

I use a 25 deg angle on most blades for the 71s. Make sure that the back/bottom of the blade is flat with the router base. I fought that issue for a while before I discovered about .005 forward tilt. Straddle a strip of abrasive with the plane, pull backwards a stroke or two, check the scratch marks. I use all 3 styles of blades, square front, skew and hags tooth, depending on wood and usage.

-- Sawdust and shavings are therapeutic

Thanks for the thread Poopiekat; i’m curious to see some of the answers you get.

Thank you for the tip ksSlim.

-- ~Tony

hhhopsk: to confirm the blade is parallel to the plate, make a cut in some scrap going one direction, then flip the router plane around and cut it in the opposite direction in the same cut. If the blade is parallel, the second cut shouldn’t touch the bottom. If it touches, it’ll be on one side or the other, and that’s the high side.

Router plane blades aren’t true 90 degree Ls.

-- ian | "You can't stop what's coming. It ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity."

Thanks for all the great replies! I’m still uncertain about technique for sharpening, should I resign myself to holding the cutter by hand over the edge of the stone or sandpaper? Wow, the arrowhead cutters must be difficult, more so than the skewed or straight cutters.

-- Einstein: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." I'm Poopiekat!!

I just free hand mine like you describe, but then I only have one cutter.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

PK – The current issue of Fine Woodworking (#229, pp 24-29) shows how to sharpen a router plane blade.

-- "It's amazing how much can go wrong when you think you know what you're doing."

Thanks, Don and Cl810! I’ve got the older issues of FWW on DVD, and nowadays only buy the issues if I see them at Safeway…but they’re usually buried behind “US” or “National Enquirer” so I gotta go fishing when I look for a current copy.

-- Einstein: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." I'm Poopiekat!!